XTeam: The Final Battle
by Josh Light
Summary: In the year 23XX, Josh Light and the rest of the X-Team have just finished their battle with the relic of Zero's past, Delta Maximus. Little does anyone realize that the biggest battle that they have ever faced is about to begin...


[Hello, reader.

Thanks for visiting. I wanted to inform you of some stuff about this story, before you just jump in a read about it. Why? Well, if you are a fan of the entire MegaMan series, reading this will probably confuse you as aside from the familiar characters, almost none of this will make sense to you. Why? Simple. This is my own universe created by me. Moreover, this story is, as the title suggests, the final battle of these characters. So a lot has indeed happen prior to the very beginning of this story. Think of like Star Wars' layout and maybe you'll understand it better. This is a revised story for a long time ago and it follows the main character Josh Light, the son of Yuichiro Light and grandson of the famous Thomas Light. Now, while I could probably spend the entire length of this story telling you about the past, character, and many of the other things that have happened, could happen and how the characters are and who they are, it would take too long and detract from this story. If there is enough people interested and I can find the time, after this entire story is done, maybe I'll go back and write about how all of this came about. Simply put, while some of the characters here may seem similar, or even hold some relation to characters from the X series or many of the other Mega Man series, please understand that they are not them. The Megaman from the Classic series and the Megaman from the BN series are of course not the same chraracter and so much of it holds true here. If you are interested in knowing more about a character. Well, one, you'll have to wait till the next chapter and, two, I will probably open a small forum or something that will explain everything to you. Regardless, I hope you enjoy reading this story and like it and I welcome you to the Final battle.]

(Last time...)

Mega Man X and the rest of the X-Team were in the final stages of their battle with Delta Maximus after Zero had declared that he would not follow his original mission and join him as Dr. Wily had wanted. With this, Delta Maximus had gone into his Perfect Form and began his onslaught against everyone.

As Delta Maximus' power surged he said,"This world is mine...I have won." The rest of the X-Team had been sent back against the wall and only X and Zero were currently close enough to do any real damage. X slowly got to his knees after the last hit and said,"Not yet, you haven't!" Delta Maximus fired another blast of Dark energy at X and sent him back to the ground saying,"I'm am in Perfect Form! You cannot defeat me, X. It is useless. My energy output far exceeds yours. It is how the Doctor predicted. The only flaw...is you Zero." Delta Maximus turned toward Zero who was down to one knee. Zero said nothing in reply to Delta Maximus. Still trying to get Zero to join his side, Delta Maximus said,"Why do you not follow your orders? You know your mission. Zero, the Doctor called you his perfect creation. You were to help him rule this world! Why do you fight against this?" Zero looked up at Delta Maximus and said," Because...It's not right! He wanted to destroy everything! And I will not allow that to happen, Maximus!" Zero then unsheathed his Z-Saber and stood up against him while X also leveled his X-Buster at him as well. Zero then shouted at Delta Maximus,"This ends here!"

At this statement, Delta Maximus powered up more of the Dark energy in his fists and said,"Very well. If you will not carry out his orders...I will! Prepare yourselves! This is your final battle!" As the rest of the Team got up and readied themselves for their last battle against this forgotten relic of the past and against the destiny that tried to submit Zero to its will, Zero pointed his Z-Saber at Delta Maximus and said," No, Delta Maximus...It's yours!" And with that, everyone charged into the fray...

Sparks flew as Zero delivered the final blow to Delta Maximus. As everyone stood wearily in front of the monstrosity that once threatened the world, Delta Maximus cried,"N-No! I-I-I-It's Impossible! Z-Zero! T-The Dr. was t-to... N-NOOO!" his voice began to break and degrade from the damage that was spreading across his systems. X looked at Delta Maximus and said,"It's over Maximus! This is it!" X began to charge his X-Buster, but Delta Maximus suddenly said,"N-NOO! I-It's not! I-I shall use the Dark Virus! I-I will c-complete my m-mission!" Zero knew exactly what that meant. He quickly replied," NO! Maximus! Don't! In your state..." But it was too late, before anyone could do anything, Delta Maximus began to charge the Dark Virus inside himself and put it into overdrive. A massive amount of energy quickly began to gather around Delta Maximus. Suddenly the on board computer within the base said," WARNING! WARNING! DARK VIRUS REACHING OVERDRIVE LIMIT! WARNING!" as it repeated it's warning, the entire base began to shake and fall apart. Beams and rods fell from the ceiling and the entire place around Delta Maximus began to warp from the energy that was being gathered. Delta Maximus then turned toward the X-Team and said," Now I shall- What..What is happening! I-I feel..." Suddenly Delta Maximus began to shake and more sparks flew from him. X looked at Delta Maximus and said,"What the- " but he was interrupted by Zero who realized what was going on. Delta Maximus' attack was about to fail and with the gathered energy, it could to devastating damage to the surrounding area. Zero quickly said," X! Fire a blast at him! It might stop him!" Zero thought that perhaps if X's charge shot could destroy the charge, only a small explosion would result. X replied,"Right! X-Buster Full Power! HHAAAaaaa!" And he fired his Charge Shot directly at Delta Maximus. As the attack hit him, a huge explosion erupted. However, as soon as it did, a black energy quickly appeared from the center of the blast and swallowed the explosion before it could go further. Zero said," What-" but before he could say anything else, Delta Maximus began to yell. His scream quickly became distorted as it quickly turned into a yell of rage. X looked on and said,"The Dark Virus! It's...!" Delta Maximus was erased from the area and in his place a Dark Beast quickly began to take shape. Both X and Zero knew that if this was allowed to continue it would pose a grave threat to the world. Zero looked at X and said,"We Have to stop this, X!" X nodded and replied,"Right! Let's go!" X and Zero, with their weapons ready, rushed the new monster that had formed. Zero jumped into the air , raised his blade and shouted,"Z-Saber!" At the same time X ran directly for the monster, his buster a full power, and shouted,"X-Buster!" Both attacks landed squarely on the enemy's arm but it simply brushed it the attacks aside like nothing and roared,"NOO USEEEE!" X and Zero flew back and hit the ground. The Dark Beast then raised its arms and suddenly, darkness enveloped everything. Before X was swallowed he was just able to say," NO-" Zero was also caught and thought to himself, "No...".

Elsewhere the others quickly recovered from their last attack with Delta Maximus. Bass said to the others," Hurry! We have to help X, and Zero!" As Bass was saying this Axl noticed a blackness quickly coming towards them. He said,"Um.. Bass!" Bass turned to Axl as said,"What!" Axl then pointed behind Bass as said,"What's that?" Bass turned around and looked to see the darkness envelop the room in front of them and it heading their way. ZX said,"That can't be good." and Roll quickly replied," Um..Maybe we should.." but ZX quickly jumped up, grabbed her hand and shouted,"RUN!" Axl replied,"That's one way of putting it!" as the rest of them followed them. However, it was too late. The darkness was catching up too quickly. Bass said,"It's no use. we can't-" before he was swallowed up. Axl looked back and saw Bass enveloped. He was able to only say,"Bass-" before he himself and the rest were completely engulfed as well...

Darkness consumed the entire area and it just kept growing. As the Darkness increased in size and began heading toward the city, it suddenly stopped. Suddenly a burst of light shines through the Darkness. From the center the Dark Beast cried out,"NNOOOOO! LIGHT! HHOWWW!" The Dark Beast shielded itself, but it was no use. There stood X with his X-Buster ready. X then shouted,"AAARRRRGGHHHHH! X-BUSTER!" and with the last of his energy, he fired a huge blast of light that erased the Darkness and effectively destroyed Delta Maximus.

Zero quickly woke up and looked around. He said to himself,"What the- What happened?" The others also began to wake up as well. Bass opened his eyes and said,"Hmmm? What just happened?" He looked around and saw Axl who said,"Where's that dark thing?" ZX replied,"You mean "what" was that dark thing?" which Axl just said,"Whatever." Bass suddenly looks around and says,Where is X?" As soon as he says that Roll shouts,"Here! He's Here!" There's concern in her voice and everyone quickly rushes to where she is. There Roll is holding onto an unconscious X. ZX says,"Is he okay? Roll replies," I think so." Suddenly the entire area begins to rumble as what is left of the area begins to fall apart. Zero quickly says,"This place is falling apart. Let's go!" and with that, Roll and ZX help carry X and the entire X-Team quickly leave the falling building before it crumbles apart.

5 months later... With the destruction of Delta Maximus, rebuilding is beginning and the X-Team is slowing recovering from what happened. Everyone is also recuperating from their last battle. Suddenly, X rushes into the Command Room saying," Man, she's driving me nuts!" Alia turns and look at X who's trying to catch his breath. She says," Is it-" but is suddenly cut off by Tron's voice. " Josh?Josh!" she says as she continues to look for him. X rushes to Alia and pleads,"Quick! Hide me!" Alia just smiles, shakes her head and says,"Sorry, X. I can't." X then glares at her and replies,"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" But before anything else can be said, Tron sees X and says,"There you are! Josh, you still need to rest!" X turns around and tries to talk to her, saying," Look, Tron, I'm fine. Don't-" but before he can say anything else, Tron interrupts and says," Let's go!" She grabs X by the collar and begins to walk back toward the Med Bay with X in tow. All the while X is still trying to get free and says,"Tron! Hey! Come on..." before they leave the area. Alia bursts into laughter and says,"You have no idea!"

Meanwhile, Zero is leaning over the railing on the top of the Base and looks out towards the sky, thinking. Suddenly his thoughts are interrupted by Bass who says,"Something wrong, Zero?" Zero replies,"...Just thinking about what Delta Maximus said." as he remembers the robots words. Bass looks at Zero and understands why Zero is so troubled. He says,"You think he was right?" Zero thinks for a bit and then replies,"No, but...this armor...I _was _supposed help Dr. Willy win." Bass put a hand on Zero's shoulder and said,"That is not so now, Zero. I was to help him as well, but it's no that way anymore." "Yeah, but ..." Zero trails off. Bass turns around and begins to head back inside. As he leaves he says,"Don't worry about. You are not Maximus." and with that leaves. Zero continues to look at the say as the sun begins to set and wonders to himself,"...Am I?"

Later, X is also thinking about the last battle and what happened at the end. Suddenly Zero shows up and asks,"What's up?" X comes out of his thoughts, and says,":Huh?...nothing...Just thinking." Zero walks up beside him and also looks toward the sky and says,"...About what?" X says nothing at first and the two just look out toward the sky for a while. X then says,"Zero, how did I stop Delta Maximus...? What was that..energy?" Zero replies," Beats me. Just glad it happened when it did. Being absorbed by the Dark Virus is not my idea of fun." X looks down, thinking again and says,"I guess.." Zero turns around, leans on the railing and says to X," I wouldn't worry about it, X. Your armor is different and not a lot is known about it, so it might just be something that normally happens." This seems to cheer X up and he replies," Yeah, like yours?" Zero laughs at how easily X can be cheered up and says," Yeah!" but this suddenly brings to mind all the stuff he was bothered about as well and thinks to himself,"...My armor.."

Suddenly, the com crackles to life and Alia's voice comes through. She says,"X! Zero! We have a new mission! " X stretches and says to Zero,"Well, let's get to it!" Zero simply replies,"About time we started to clean and rebuild this city!" Alia then says to everyone," We have a lot of work ahead of us! The entire world needs help!" and before the entire team heads out to begin their work, X says,"Right! Time to go! X-Team! Move out!"

(Present Time)

"...What is strength...?"

"..is it being able to destroy anything in your path...?"

"..the ability withstand any attack...?"

"...is it..."

Suggested into music is the song "Don't wanna be" by Spinwake

This would also be where an anime intro would be played showing off the characters and the name of this story. The X-Team: Final Battle

In an unknown place, a dark figure on his thrown slowly smiles. He then says to himself,"Heheheheheheheh...It is time...I have been away for too long...Get ready...Here I come...heheheheheheh..." As he slowly looks ahead, he grins and his eyes glow an eerily red...

In an area that was heavily devastated by the last battle, many of the X-Team members, including X and Zero, have volunteered to directly help with some of the reconstruction. After a while, X stretches back, sighs and says," Man rebuilding is tough work!" Axl who is also there, looks up and says," No pain-" but he is cut off by a bolder that Bass has thrown at him, which buries him in the dirt. Bass then finishes his sentence by saying,"...no gain." Axl pops his head out from under the bolder and in a very chibi-mad style yells out to Bass,"WHAT WAS THAT FOR!" Bass just brushes off some dirt that was on his cloak and says,"Just testing how strong you are." Axl grabs the bolder and throws it off of him in a rage and says,"Yeah right!" Axl is about to rush Bass when Zero, who just finished welding a support beam to the nearby building, says,"Stop messing around, Axl. We've got work to do." Zero then jumps back toward the unfinished building. Bass turns to leave and says," Indeed." Axl and ZX follows along side Bass, while Axl shouts back to Zero,"Hey, wait a second! He threw the boulder at ME!" ZX chimes in,"Come on! Let's just-" but he's statement is blocked by Bass and Axl both hitting the top of his head. ZX cries,"Ouch! what'd I do!" as he rubs his wound. Bass simply leers and says,"Something. I"m sure." ZX protests,"Hey-" but once again he is interrupted. X stand up and says,"Okay everyone, we're finished here. Let's move on to sector 7." Everyone agrees and moves out under his orders. ZX simply grumbles and follows everyone else.

Back at the X-Team H.Q. In the Command Room, the Navigators are also hard at work helping monitor everyone and aid in the reconstruction. Alia is furiously typing away on her data keyboard and says," Okay sector 6, clear. Now on to sector 7." and with that she begins to work, calling up the blueprint on the sector and begins to relay the information to everyone. Nana walks up the Alia and calls her name. However, Alia is so zoned into her work she doesn't hear her. Nana sighs and says," Alia...Alia! Maybe you should take a break. You've been working non stop for nearly the entire week!" Alia almost as if she doesn't hear Nana, replies,"No, I'm fine! Just need to get started on Sector 7." Nana then moves in front of Alia and stops her from typing more on the keyboard. She the says," Alia! Take a break! I'll cover for you!" Alia leans back and sighs. Finally she looks at Nana and says,"...O.k...Maybe I should take a break... Thanks,Nana!" Nana replies," No problem!" and with that Alia slowly gets up from her seat. Suddenly, the H.Q. alarm sounds! Alia jumps back into her seat and says," Scratch that! Looks like somethings up!" Nana quickly takes her seat as well and begins analyzing the incoming information and replies,"Yeah! It's in Sector 9!" With that Alia opens a channel and says," X! Zero! Come in! " Over the Com, X's voice comes through and says," What's up, Alia?" Alia quickly replies," We've got some strange readings in Sector 9!" Zero replies," Sector 9? That place hasn't even been cleared of Maverick mechaloids! " Sector 9 was one of the areas that was closest to the area where the X-Team had to fight many of the battles that Delta Maximus caused. X replies to Alia,"Zero and I will check it out!" Alia quickly says," Be careful! I can't pinpoint the location, or tell you what it is!" " No problem! Let's go!" says Zero. And with that, both the Hunters head off toward Sector 9.

Elsewhere, at the Federation Headquarters, the Supreme Commander looks at a map which shows the area of Den Tech City and the areas where abnormal activity has occurred. The Supreme Commander turns to the group of Admirals and Generals and says,"I don't like Den Tech City's weaken state." An Admiral replies,"Yes, of course. I agree, but we are doing everything we can!" The Supreme Commander walks back to a wall with a crystal inlaid toward the top. The Supreme Commander then turns back toward the group and says,"Perhaps, but I do not have first hand knowledge this. Therefore, I am sending one of my most trusted men to oversee the rebuilding plans. He will be in charge over anything he wishes. " The Admiral replies,"As you wish." After that the Supreme Commander says," Send word to those in charge of Den Tech. " and with that the group begins to leave. Except one Admiral, who says,"Very good, sir. But may I ask...Who will you be sending?" The Supreme Commander turns back toward the wall as it open from the middle. The Supreme Commander then walks back into the new room and says,"I shall send, General Dextron."

Elsewhere in some obscure corner of the world, in an apartment building in a seedy area. A shadow is in the apartment is pacing the floor. This person known only as Hawk, mumbles and then says to himself,"...Nothing to do...I hate these breaks...no spying, no fighting, and especially...NO MONEY! Stupid, X-Team! I can't get any work because of them! Aaaarrgghhh!" In frustration he sit on the bed and hangs his head. Suddenly from out of nowhere a voice says,"Would you like some work?" Hawk jumps back away from the voice, pulls out both of his laser pistols, points them at the voice and says," Who's there! " Suddenly a dark shadowed figure seems to come out straight from the wall and says," Now, now...no worries. I just wanted to know if you needed a job." Hawk still pointing his guns at the figure says,"Well, I'm kinda busy at the moment! And besides, I don't take jobs from black robed freaks either! I blow them out my window!" and with that Hawk fires a volley directly at the figure. The blasts would have sent any ordinary Repiloid out the window and killed a normal human being. However, this figure didn't even flinch from the attacks. The figure merely said,"Now, is that necessary?" Hawk stopped firing and looked at the figure in shock. He said,"What the- What do you want?" The figure turned around and walked in line of the window. It then pulled out a bag and threw it onto the bed, in front of Hawk. It jingled as it hit the bed. Then the figure said," Here." Hawk grabbed the bag and looked in it and said,"What's this?... Money!" "Ten-thousand Zenny." replied the figure with a grin in his voice. "Okay, you have my attention." said Hawk who pulled out some of the money. "Good. I'm glad we've come to an agreement..." replied the figure. Hawk titled his head, looked at this new benefactor and said,"So...What's the job?..."

X and Zero and both arrived in Sector 9, via their Hover-cycles. They had been driving in the place for a while, but then had to go on foot due to the area ahead being too rough will the boulders and rubble to continue to drive. The had been walking for about 30 minuets with nothing that showed any sign of anything out of the ordinary. In fact, both Hunters didn't even see any low level mechaloids at all either. After a while X said," I don't see anything yet! You?" Zero replied," Nothing. I don't like it. We should be running into something by now, but I haven't seen even a half-working mechaloid, yet!" X stopped and looked to the left. There was a building that stood in front of him, however, back when Delta Maximus first appeared, the building in front of him and the long row going perpendicular to X's position, was all nothing but rubble now. Evidence of the destruction that he easily wielded. X pointed in that direction and said," Let's check over there. Those buildings might be hiding something." Zero sighed and said," I hope this isn't one of Alia's wild goose chases!" The Com suddenly burst to life on their helmets and replied,"I heard that, Zero! " X put his hand to his ear to activate the Com and asked,"Alia, is the energy reading still there?" Alia came back and said,"Yes. but it's strange..Even with you there..I still can't get any readings! I think that...this...kind...blocking..." but after that static was all that could be heard. It was odd, because this area was still well within Alia's transmission range. X quickly replied,"Alia? Alia! Come in!...Looks like whatever's here can distort our communications." Both of the Hunters looked around and surveyed their surroundings. Zero said," I got a bad feeling about this." X began to walk forward and said,"Yeah...Hey! I'm picking up an energy beacon! Over there!" X pointed directly in front of them. Zero said,"Right! Let's find out what's going on!" and with that both Hunters dashed toward the signal. X and Zero both quickly came within range of the signal and were now looking for a specific person or device that would be giving off the transmission that apparently was also interrupting their communication with H.Q. X looked around and said,"I don't see anything. " Zero was also looking around in the area and replied," Me either...Wait! Over there." Zero spotted a small circular transceiver that was blinking in the rubble and emitting the energy wave they were looking for. X slowly walked up to the device and picked it up. He looked at it and then turned it off. It looked as if the device was just placed there for just that reason and no other. X said," What's going on? Is this someone's idea of a joke?" " Well, I don't find this amusing." replied Zero. Suddenly another voice spoke in the darkness," It was not meant as a joke." Then another voice for another direction said,"It was meant to be bait." and yet another voice from across them said,"And they took it. Are you sure these are the ones?" X and Zero were surrounded. Both of them quickly stood back to back and took fighting stances. One of the voices spoke up and said,"Yes. It is them." X looked in the direction of the last voice and said,"Who are you!" Zero also said,"And what do you want!" With that 3 figures suddenly came out from the darkness and walked toward each other. They then turned and stood in front of X and Zero. The middle figure then said,"Just to meet you. The Legendary Maverick Hunters. X...Zero." The figure on the left then said,"Before we destroy you, that is." Zero reached back and put his hand on his Z-Saber and the replied," A bunch of wise guys, huh? " Then the figure on the right laughed and began to charge some energy and said,"You'll regret that remark." Zero stepped forward and replied," Yeah? Prove it!" and with that the unsheathed his Z-Saber. "We're waiting, O, great Maverick hunter!" said one of the figures. With that, Zero the threw a slash at one of the figures. Zero was confident the attack would hit, however, the clocked figure simply side-stepped the attack and suddenly disappeared." Huh! What the-" was all Zero could say before the figure suddenly appeared right in front of Zero and sent a punch into Zero's gut that knocked Zero back into the wall behind him. Zero quickly fell to his knees and gasped for breath. He then looked at the figure and said,"W-What the- How did y-you...!" X quickly jumped back and said,"Zero!" "I-I'm fine. These guy are stronger then they look." replied Zero. The figure that punched Zero then jumped back to where his friends were and said," Oh, you haven't seen nothing yet!" with a grin in his voice. They all suddenly laugh at how easily one of them was able to hurt Zero. Then the middle figure said."Heheh. That is enough, for now. " and while still chuckling then turned around and began to leave the area. X's anger rose within him and he activate his X-Buster and pointed it at the group. He then said,"Hold it!" and began to charge his buster. One of the stopped and turned to X and replied," Please. That sorry excuse for an attack. Stop us?" The middle figure then said," I said, enough! It's time to go." and with that the other figure grinned and he and another figure warped from the area, leaving one behind. The latter one, X noticed that his warp trail was different that a standard one. He then looked to the remain figure who was looking directly at him. The figure said," Know this, X...The time for games is over...The War is about to begin.." and with that he warped from the area. X was about to ask what he meant, but it was too late. X turned to Zero who was already getting up. Zero said,"Let's go. We've got to report this to everyone." X walked toward his friend and said,"Yeah..." With that they both began to head back to their base. As they did, X thought to himself,"What did he mean by...War?"

In the Residential District of Den Tech City, two unknown people walked up to a house and looked at it. One of the men said," Are you sure this is where he lives?" The other replied,"Yes. Let's go." and with that they both walked up to the door and knocked on it. They soon heard someone from the other side say,"Hang on..." Suddenly the door opens and a young man greets them and says,"Yeah?" One of them looks at the guy who lives here and said,"Are you Ichimu Seidan?" The young man replied," Yeah, that's me. Can I help you?" The other man then says," We represent a certain group that would like to help you." Ichimu looks at them both and replies,"Help me?...In what...?"

In another area, another person is sitting on an outside table of a cafe, enjoying a cup of coffee. Two people suddenly walk up to him. One of the say,"James Hikyuu?" The man looks up after taking a sip of his drink and replies,"Yeah? Can I help you?" The other man then says,"We talked on the phone." James nods and replies,"...Oh. Yeah." One of the men then says,"Have you made you decision?" James then looks down at his coffee as if he's thinking or perhaps deciding. Finally he looks back at the two men and replies,"...Yeah...I'll take your job." One of the men the takes out his cell phone and begins to make a call while the other replies,"Good. If you'll follow us, please..."

Across town, another group is trying to recruit yet another person. This time, they meet the man as he is training in a fighting ring. One of the men approaches him and says,"Are you Cameron Shakaku?" Without turning around Cameron replies," Yeah...that's me." The man then says,"We would like to offer you a special job." however, before he can say anything else, Japes replies,"No thanks." and with that James heads out of the ring and begins to pack his stuff to leave. The men follow and say,"It would allow-" but he is interrupted by Cameron who says,"I said I'm not interested." and with that Cameron begins to leave. The man then finishes his statement saying,"-you to fight Mavericks." This stops Cameron in his tracks. Without turning around, Cameron replies,"..What did you say?" The man replies,"You would be able to fight Mavericks." Cameron turns around looks the guy directly in the eye and says,"Alright...When do I start?" Both of them men then walk toward the door and say,"If you will follow us..."

Cameron arrives to a building that looks like a centuries old, Japanese-style building. As he gets out from the car, he looks at it and wonders if going to this place will help him in getting what he wants. One of them that he first met shows him to the door and they enter the building. Inside it looks almost as old. Everything is like it was from a book of the past, yet here and there can been seen 23XX technology. As if they wanted to try to mix the old and new, nature and man-made structures. As they pass a courtyard, Cameron sees an odd group of people who seem to be practicing. While all of this looks interesting, none of this as of yet shows any sign of helping Cameron with his goals. This only annoys him as one of the men say," Well, shall I introduce you to the people you will be working with?" Cameron simply replies," I don't care about them. Nor, do I want to know them." In truth, Camron had never been a sociable person. Not exactly that he hated people, but he didn't trust them either. His goal was all that stayed on his mind. That, and his past. The thought of possibly meeting new people and forging new friendships, simply did not appeal to him, nor did he see any value in it. Apparently, this coldness of the idea showed as the man cleared his throat and replied,"..Very well. Then, I shall introduce you to your teacher and let you begin." As they walked toward a veranda in the center of the building Cameron just though to himself,"...Like I care." When the got there a weird-looking figure, at least to Cameron, approached them. The guy next to Cameron said,"Sir. This is Cameron." The figure, who Cameron thought looked like some human fox with a bunch of tails, looked at him and said," Cameron. Nice to meet you." Cameron simply replied to this fox-man,"...Whatever. Who are you? You look weird." The man next to immediately had a face of shock as of Cameron just said," Kill me." to the guy in front of him. He was about to reprimand Cameron but the fox-man simply looked the man and said," Don't worry." He then turned to Cameron and said," Yes, I may look weird to some. But, I assure you, I will teach you how to fight." Cameron simply replied,"That so?" and the fox-man said,"Yes. You may call me, Ninetails." Cameron remembered the legend of a nine-tailed fox and figured at the very least, this guy could show him something, however good or bad it was in helping him achieve his goal. He then turned to the man next to him and said,"And what do I call you?" The man replied,"I am called Storm." "Weird names." said Cameron. Storm sighed and said,"Don't worry about it. " Ninetails turned, showed Cameron the entire area and said,"You will be here a while. Why not meet with some of the other students?" Cameron looked around and said," I don't care to talk to them, thanks." Ninetails figured that regardless, he's have to meet with the others sooner or later. And if he's rather train then talk, so much the better. Time wasn't on their side. Ninetails replied,"Very well. Then let's begin..."

Later, X and Zero both arrived back at X-Team H.Q. The quickly told Alia and the rest of the Team the trouble that they ran into at Sector 9. After they told them everything Alia said,"Are you two sure?" Zero quickly said,"Why would we make this stuff up? I don't know what's going on but, that guy slammed me into the ground like I was a feather. And I know he wasn't at full power. " After that everyone became quiet. Alia softly replied," This doesn't look good." Suddenly there was a ping on Nana's control panel, showing that it completed it's job. Nana then said," I just got through running a energy sweep of sector 9. Whoever you met isn't there anymore. What's weird though is there isn't any energy traces. It's like they wasn't even there!" Usually with the X-Team's Central Computer they are able to not only spot and track movements, they are also able to pick up warp trails, even those of Mavericks. This technology has been very helpful in tracking and battling the Maverick up till now. Axl replied in shock,"What kind of power do they have!" While everyone had been talking about this new enemy, Alia noticed that X so far had said nothing. In fact, it looked like his mind was elsewhere. " X? You've been really quiet." Alia asked. This seemed to snap X out of whatever he was thinking about for a second. He replied,"Huh? Oh, It's nothing. Just a lot of stuff on my mind." and with that X just left the Command Room. Zero turned to watch him leave and then said," What's up with him?"

X walks down to the Cafeteria and heads into the kitchen of the room. He didn't seem to notice Tron standing by the stove. She suddenly sees Josh and says,"Huh? Oh! Josh! What's up?" Josh simply replies,"Nothing..." Tron watches Josh turn toward the door and lean against it. She then replies,"...You sure?" X looks back at her. Tron looks away and shyly says,"You seem...far away." X just stares at her for a second and then says,"...I'm thinking of that guys last words.." Tron tilts her head ans replies," What did he say?" X the looks up at the ceiling and says,"..Something about a War about to begin." X suddenly remembers the encounter with the unknown figure.

The figure said,"Know this, X...The time for games is over...The War is about to begin..." and with that the figure warped from the area.

Tron looked at X and said,"...Maybe it was just a threat?" X looked down and slowly replied,"...Maybe.." That could have been it. Just a threat. But somehow, X really didn't think so. Suddenly Tron's word burst through his thoughts, "Yeah. Maybe that's all it was. " she said with a smile. Here Josh had been worried over what could be happening and Tron was doing her best to encourage him. X couldn't help but be grateful to her. " Thanks, Tron.." he said to her. Tron saw the shine in Josh's eyes as he looked at her. She couldn't help but blush. She quickly turned away from him and said,"S-Sure. No problem. Um..I'd better get back to work..." and with that quickly walked back to her work. She heard Josh reply,"Okay, See ya!" and as he headed back out the door she said,"...Bye."

In the Military Section of the City, and couple of ensigns were talking about some of the apparent changes that were taking place on base. The first ensign said," Hey did you here?" The second just got through putting down a container and replied," No. What?" The other grinned and said,"Some high up guy is coming down here to supervise the rebuilding." The second looked up and replied," Really? Wow! I bet the big bosses are going crazy!" then he chuckled. The first the laughed as well and said,"Yeah. I-" Suddenly he was interrupted by another person who had walked up behind them. The man said,"Are you two on shift?" and glared at them. The first quickly reconsigned the man and said," Uh..uh..Y-yes Major! We'll get right on it!" and with that both of the ensigns ran like crazy. The major watched them run off and sighed. The then said to himself,"...Ensigns..." Suddenly another figure walked up next to the Major and said,"Something wrong, Major?" the Major looked back and saw the man. He then turned back and watched the ensigns running around and replied," No. Just some solders standing around, Colonel." The Colonel the said," I see. well get everyone to their posts. The General is on his way." "Right." replied the Major and with that walked off. Usually the area wasn't so worked up, it was true. Which only confused the Colonel. As the headed back to get the preparations ready for the incoming high ranking official, straight from Federation H.Q. The Colonel thought to himself,"...Why did H.Q. send a General here...?"

While the Colonel was getting everything ready, the helicopter that was carrying the official was currently landing at the airport. An ensign walked back into the seating area of the helicopter and said," We are now landing, sir." An older voice replied,"Very, good." Another voice then said,"Has the Colonel of this sector been notified?" The ensign turned an looked to the man sitting on the other side. He replied,"Yes, Commander Jet Blade." The Commander then replied," Good." The other man then said,"You are dismissed." The ensign saluted to them both and said," Yes, sir." and with that left the room. After Jet Blade asked," Will we tell the Colonel of the situation, General?" The General simply looked out the window and replied,"...If it becomes necessary." The Commander immediately said," Uh..Of course, sir." The General then said without moving," I do not like everyone knowing of such matters as this." The Command simply replied," Right...Uh..sir."

In an unknown place an unknown group is about to make their move in a bid for control of the entire world. A man who is hidden in shadow is sitting on a large throne, apparently thinking. Another figure who is standing next to him turns and asks,"Something on your mind, Master?" The apparent "Master" simply replies,"...I want to send, him." The man replies,"So soon?" The Master grins and says,"Yes...I believe it is time to test how far X, and Zero has come over the years..." The man quickly bows and replies,"Of course, Master. As you wish." The Master then looks at the man and says," Send him in." The unknown man bows once again and leaves the area. He returns with another figure. Both of them walk up to the base of the throne and bows. The new figure then says,"You sent for me, Master?" "Yes. It is time for you to fight." the Master says without any emotion. The figure simply replies," I shall do as you command." The Master smiles and says,"Good. Target X and Zero. But do not kill them." "As you wish." says the figure. The Master quickly turns a deathly cold tone in his voice and says,"Do not disappoint me. I do not like failure." The figure, clearly shaken replies,"Y-Yes, Master." and with that the figure quickly leaves the area to complete his mission. The other unknown man, turns and faces the Master and says,"Master. We also have new men to fight as well." The Master simply replies," We shall use them soon..." almost as if it's a useless issue. The unknown man then says,"Of course. I have also heard tell that the Federation has sent at least one of the Supreme Commander's men to this area." This peeks the Master's interest as he says," Hmm? Well...Perhaps, we should welcome him? Send one of these men you have spoken of. Let's just see how good they are..." " As you wish..." replies the unknown man and he quickly heads out to gather the men.

On a rooftop of one of the skyscrapers in the heart of Den Tech City, the unknown figure warps down. He walks toward the edge of the building and surveys the area. It's a very busy city, full of people going this way and that. The figure begins to chuckle and says to himself," Now, how does one get X, and Zero's attention? Oh! I know!" and with that the figure begins to charge his energy. As his energy reaches it's full power, the figure begins to float into the air. With a grin the roars," Resounding Crusher!" The attack sent into the building below him, effectively imploding the building. It begins to fall in on itself and the huge pieces of rubble and beams slam into the ground below. Everything in the area grinds to a halt as people run in frantic to get away from the falling building. The top part of the falling building smashes into a nearby building and it also begins to crumble. Chaos quickly spreads throughout the city.

From above the figure looks on and laughs. He then says," I wonder how long it takes them to get here...? Oh well. I'll just destroy some more buildings until they do!" and with that he laughs more and being to recharge his energy for another attack.

Suddenly a beeper resounds on Alia's screen. Alia quickly sends a message to X and Zero. She says," X! Zero! We've got trouble in Sector 2!" X immediately replies," On it!" and with that X and Zero head out to confront the enemy. Zero says," Can you I.D. the Maverick?" Alia replies," That's just it. I can't read anything on my sensors! But eye-witness are saying someone near Grid 32 is the cause!" " Thanks!" replies Zero and with that the unsheathes his Z-Saber and says," We'll find out what's going on!" Alia quickly replies," Be careful! If I can't read them, then I can't tell their attacks or anything...and.." " It might be them." X says, finishing her sentence. Zero looks at X and says,"We've got to find out what's going on!" X then says," Alia! Have the Team on standby. I'll signal if we need help." Alia replies,"Roger. By the way, X, you're Nova Armor is still offline, so you'll have to use your other armors in this battle." X replies," Thanks! I'll keep that in mind. " and with that both of them race off to the area of battle.

Meanwhile at Sector 2, the figure looks down at the destruction he just caused. He then said,"Hmmmm...Where are they? I'm growing impatient! Huh?" just then two beams of light fall down to the ground below. When they fade X and Zero appear and look around. X then looks up to a nearby building and see the figure. He then says to Zero,"I think he's up on that building!" Zero also turns and look and replies,": Yeah, he's up there. I can see his energy aura!" " Let's go!" says X. With that both of the hunters run directly at the building and then jump. They then begin to scale the building, running up at a vertical angle. The figure looks down and sees the two Hunters coming directly at him. The then says to him self,"Well, well." and then jumps off the building, falling directly toward them. X and Zero both see him jump off and head toward them. They both stop and X says,"There he is!" The figure then laughs and says,"What took so long!" When he fall in between both X and Zero he fires a blast at X who quickly dodges the attack. However, this causes X to no longer be able to hold on to the wall and he begins to fall with the figure as well. X says,"Who are you!" The figure simply laughs and begins to fire a volley of shots at both X and Zero. Zero does a vertical flip against the wall and jumps directly toward the figure saying," Don't waste your breath on these guys. They only understand one thing-" Zero quickly readies his Z-Saber and then shouts,"-THIS!" Zero then throws a slash wave at the figure, followed by X who fires a buster shot at him as well. While both of them are in the air, X the says,":Zero! Now!"Both of the then fire their thrusters and slam into the figure just as their attacks hit him as well. There is a huge explosion on the side of the building from the attack. Suddenly one person shoots out for the smoke followed by two more. The figure the says," You will both fall before the power of, Merix! Resounding Crusher!" X and Zero both fly directly into the attack and all three of them hit the ground. As the smoke clears, X and Zero dash toward this figure known as Merix. Zero charges his Z-Saber and X unsheathes his U. Sword. Both of the try to slash at Merix who quickly jumps back. He then says," Huh? What the-" Zero and X both begin to charge their swords and Zero says," So you wanna fight,huh?" "Well, we'll give you a fight! X-Slash!" says X and he then makes an X-Slash with sword and sends it toward Merix. Zero then says," Z-Slash!" and fires a huge slash wave at him as well. Both attacks hit Merix dead on and send him flying back. Merix is just able to say,"No! How-!: before X and Zero once again slash at him again, this time, sending Merix flying into the air. X then says," I don't know who you are-" suddenly X disappears from where he was and quickly reappears above Merix with his X-Buster ready and charging. X then says," -But you are gonna regret attacking us!" Suddenly below Merix, Zero points at Merix and says,"Dark Hold! See ya, buddy!" Merix suddenly freezes in place. He looks up to X that X's Charge Shot is ready, and he cannot move to avoid it. " No! I won't-" is all he's able to say before X shouts," X-Buster! Full Power! HAAaaaaaaa!" and with that X fires a huge blast that connect with Merix sending him flying back down. Zero then takes his Z-Saber and moves just outside of X's attack and slashes Merix with his blade. This sends Merix back up toward X who brings his U. Sword down on Merix, slamming him into the nearby building. He then falls back down to the street. X and Zero slowly land and look at the smoke where Merix fell. X then says," I think that took care of him!" Zero sheathes his Z-Saber and says," Heh. Stupid, Maverick didn't see what hit him!" Both of them then turn from the smoke and prepare to head back when suddenly they hear something from the settling smoke," ah...ah...ahah..ahahahahahahahahahahaha!" X and Zero quickly turn around and look. There they can see Merix pulling himself up from the rubble. ": Huh! What-" says X. " No way! " says Zero. Merix walks from out of the crater and stands in front of X and Zero. He then dusts himself and laughs. " Is that all the Legendary Warriors have! Pitiful!" he smirks. " I-I can't believe it! " says X. Zero unsheathed his sword again and stars walking toward Merix saying," O.k. that's it! Let's go!" X activates his X-Buster and says," He's going down!" Merix merely grins at the approaching Hunters and says," Let me show you-" he then begins to gather energy once again, except this time, it's more stronger. He then finishes,"-how powerful I really am..."

Meanwhile, Cameron is busy training within the Ninetails dojo. Cameron shouts as he punches a wooden dummy, he then stops for a second. " Unh! Arrrgghh! Why am I doing this!" he says out loud. Ninetails suddenly appears and says," To learn how to fight." " I already know how to fight!" replies Cameron. Ninetails then moves in front of Cameron and says,"Really? Then show me." Cameron the gets into a fighting stance and says," All right! take this!" Cameron tries to throw a punch at Ninetails, but he easily side-steps the attack and blocks it. " Huh? Aarrgghh!" shouts Cameron. He then tries to round-house kick Ninetails, however, Ninetails grabs his foot and throws him into a nearby wall. Cameron rubs his head from where he hit the wall as Ninetails walks over and says,"You lack balance, as well as power." Cameron huffs in frustration and slowly gets back up. Ninetails turns, begins to walk away and says," Now get back to work. You have much to learn." and with that walks away. Cameron simply looks down and balls his fists. Suddenly a voice calls out to him," Hey! Cam! Everyone is heading out for a break! Wanna come?" Cameron looks to see James standing next to him. "...no..." he replies. "Huh?" replies James. "..I have work..." says Cameron and with that he goes back to the wooden dummy and continues training. James just watches him and says to himself,"...Man, talk about a workaholic..." He then turns and walks away. Cameron continues to punch the dummy while thinking," I...have..to...become stronger...I... have to..."

Suddenly, Alia's Com goes blank. She immediately shouts,"No!" Nana turns to her and says,"What?" " I just lost contact with X and Zero!" she replies. " How?" asks Nana. "I don't know." replies Alia. Layer suddenly says from her Com," I'm still picking up weapons fire." " Alia. Do they need help?" ask Nana. Alia tries to pull up information on her screen but nothing it coming up. "...Um..I.." she stutters. " We need to make a decision." says Layer. Alia knew Layer was right. X and Zero could be in trouble. "...Call everyone." she says. " Right." replies Nana and with that the entire Team is sent to aid X and Zero.

Suddenly a blast files directly at X. "Unh!" shouts X as he rolls out of the way of the blast. However the resulting explosion send X flying forward. Merix laughs and the shouts,"Merix Firewave!" Zero quickly shouts," X! Look out!" but there's no time. X is just recovering from the explosion and the attack is already coming. X looks at the incoming attack shouts," Arrggghhh! X-Aura!" Suddenly a dark-bluish barrier with what looks like an cyan-ish electric X crisscrossing it, surrounds X and take the brunt of the attack. The resounding explosion quickly dissipates and X still stands looking at Merix. "That's it! I've had it! Raijingeki!" With that Zero throws this Z-Saber forward and and electric slash flies at Merix. However, Merix quickly blocks the attack with his own sword and jumps to the side. As he does he says," heh, Is that it, Zero?" Suddenly X jumps up into the air behind Merix and shouts,"You forgot this, Merix! Echo Shot!" Merix turns his head just in time to see X fire a blast at him. Suddenly the attack disappears as if it's wasn't even there to begin with ": Huh? Where is the attack? Unnhhh!" Suddenly Merix sees the the attack that X shot, but before he can figure out how it happened, Zero quickly attacks him as well. Just as both attacks slam into him, Merix suddenly charges energy and shouts, " Merix's Inferno!" a huge inferno of fire surrounds Merix and disintegrates both attacks. Moreover the blast is so huge that it send X and Zero flying backward. X flies into a wall and Zero is pummeled into the ground. X is able to get to one knee and he says," That was like the-" X was about to say. He noticed that the attacks before did indeed hit, but both attack were almost absorbed, almost like X's own attack, the Giga Crush! However before he can say or think anymore,Merix laughs and says," Perhaps the War will come sooner than I thought!" Zero gets up from where he was and replies,"Unh.. What are you babbling about now?" Merix turns to Zero and says," You will know soon. Until then, I'll show you to respect me!" with a grin. Merix then raises his hand in the air to ready another attack, but as soon as he does, the entire X-Team warps down right between Zero and Merix. The all quickly activate their weapons and aim them at Merix. Merix simple grins and says,"..Well, well. It looks like I have overstayed my welcome..." But Axl wasn't going to let him say anymore. He shouts to the others,"Let him have it!" and with that everyone begins to fire their attacks at Merix. However, Merix quickly warps from the area, avoiding all the attacks. Before he does, however, he says with a grin,"Until next time, X...Zero." Axl and the rest then quickly run to the aid of the two Hunters and Axl asks,"You two okay?" X gets up and replies," Fine." Zero doesn't say anything, but can clearly understand X's meaning. "We could not reach you over the com. It appears he has the ability to jam all signals in battle." Tron quickly runs to X's side and asks,"Josh. are you sure your okay?" X looks at her and replies," Yeah I'm fine. Don't worry." His look assures her that he's alright and she breathes a sigh of relief. Cinnamon the says,"We'll repair your armors when we get back." Zero then sheaths his Z-Saber and says," Let's go." Axl then turns to him and says," Was he that hard?" Zero doesn't say anything. He only looks at X, as does the rest of the Team. X simply look back and says," Guys...We've got trouble..."

Meanwhile, the helicopter that was carrying the General and Commander Jet Blade landed at the Den Tech Airport. The General and the Commander both departed from the ship and met the Colonel and the rest of his troops. Commander Jet Blade stood next to the Colonel and said," Colonel. May I introduce you to General Dextron." The Colonel saluted and replied,"General Dextron, sir." The General dismissed him and replied,"Colonel." The Colonel and the rest then turn and headed back toward the hanger. While they where walking the Colonel said,"It is very rare to receive a visit from one of the Supreme Commander's men. May I ask why I am honored with such a visit?" The General simply replies," I have been sent to help with the reconstruction. The Supreme Commander is concerned with the vulnerability to Den Tech." Obviously, the General wasn't planning on giving the Colonel any more information then he already had. The Colonel the pointed to an area and said,"...Ah. As you wish. We have your quarters over here. If you will follow me." Suddenly a voice from behind them says,"Now, the General doesn't need a rest does he?" The General turned to see a figure slowly walking toward him and the group. " Who are you? Identify yourself, ensign!" said the General. " Ensign? No, no..Your are mistaken. I am known as Ice Spearhead. " said Ice Spearhead as he walked toward the General. " A Maverick!" said Jet Blade. He then moves in front of the General and Ice Spearhead and activates his Shear Blades. Ice Spearhead stops and replies," No. Not exactly." The Commander looks at him and says," What?" Ice Spearhead stands in front the General and says," Oh, don't get me wrong. I am here to destroy you...Heheheh. Welcome to the War, General!" The General and the rest of the group turn and get into a fighting stance. " You will regret this." says General Dextron. Ice Spearhead grins and replies,"I don't think I will! Spear of Ice!" Suddenly a pillar of thin ice forms in his hand and extends into a spear with a frozen spike on the end. The entire spear hardens into a golden spear, except the spike which gives off a frozen aura. " No, you don't!" Jet Blade quickly dashes at Ice Spearhead and attempts to slash at him, however, Ice Spearhead quickly uses his spear to block the attack. The Colonel then raises his hand toward the air and shouts," Take this! Colonel Cannon!" Suddenly his entire arm transforms into a huge cannon and the Colonel fires a shot at Ice Spearhead. He quickly spins his staff and swings it in a vertical direction shouting," Ha! Ice Wave!" Suddenly a huge wave of Ice shoots out from the attack, effectively blocking the Colonel's attack. The Colonel quickly rolls to avoid the oncoming wave, but just as he move out of range, his leg is just caught within the attack. " What is this-Unh! What? H-How did he attack me?" says the Colonel as he tries to unfreeze his leg. Ice Spearhead laughs at the Colonel, however, suddenly General Dextron walks in front of the Colonel and says," I believe I will take over, now." Ice Spearhead grins and replies," Fine by me. Aarrgghh! Ice Storm!" Ice Spearhead spins his staff above him and causes a huge hole in the air to open, sending a bunch of shards of ice to fly directly at the General. " General, look out!" shouts Commander Jet Blade. The General simply takes out his weapon and says," Dextron Saber!" The General then jumps directly at the attack and suddenly disappears. He reappears behind the attack and suddenly all the ice shards split in half and shatter. " Huh? " say Ice Spearhead, stunned that someone from the Federation could stop his attack. " Too slow! Dextron Saber! Shotgun Mode!" say the General as his blade transforms into a shotgun. "What the-?" says Ice Spearhead as the General quickly move to counterattack and fires a huge blast, point blank, at Ice Spearhead. The attack sends Ice Spearhead flying back, slamming directly into the helicopter the General just came from. The attack easily ignites the helicopter, blowing itself and Ice Spearhead up. The General the transforms his shotgun back into a blade and sheathes it. He then turns and heads back toward the group. "...How did you do that!" says the Colonel, stunned that the General had so much power. "...I shot him." replied the General. The General the starts to walk back when suddenly Commander Jet Blade points and says," General! Look!" Everyone quickly turns to look. From the inferno, pieces of the helicopter are thrown around. " Unh! I-I'm..not done yet!" says Ice Spearhead as he walks through the inferno. Suddenly the entire inferno freezes so fast the the fire didn't have time to be extinguished. " You want more!"say the General. Ice Spearhead roars in anger and shouts," Winter's Storm!"The entire sky turns dark and suddenly everything becomes a frozen wasteland. Ice Spearhead grins and says," Heh! I won't go down that easily!" The General steps forward and looks at the entire area suddenly turned into frozen plain. "...You have some power. I'll give you that, but you haven't seen the full extent of mine." says the General. "Oh really? I'll show you power!" replies Ice Spearhead in rage. Suddenly another figure warps down beside Ice Spearhead. The figure looks at Ice Spearhead and says,"Leave him." Ice Spearhead spins around and replies," But, sir!" The figure glares at Ice Spearhead and says," Now." Ice Spearhead turns toward the general and makes a fist at him, saying," I will destroy you, General." then he turns and warps from the area. The General looks at the figure who seems to be able to control such a destructive Maverick and says,"And you are?" The figure simply looks at the General and replies,"I have no need to answer you." then General unsheathes his blade once again and says," Well, maybe this will make you talk! Shotgun Mode!" Once again his blade transforms into a shotgun and the General fires a shot at the figure. The figure simply chuckles and stretches out hand to the attack. General Dextron's attack is easily deflected. " Huh?" The figure the looks at his hand and then back at the General. He then says,"...Will you fight in this War...?" and with that the figure warps out from the area. Commander Jet Blade slowly walks up beside the General and asks," Who were they?" The Colonel also asks,"What was that last thing he said?" The General looks ahead at the frozen inferno that was the helicopter and the rest of the airport that is a frozen wasteland and says,"...Let's go. I see I have my work cut out for me." With that the General and the rest turn to try fix everything that was just destroyed, and prepare for whatever those Mavericks had in store.

In another part of the city Hawk is standing on the roof of a tall skyscraper overlooking the city. His arms are crossed and there's a frown on his face. " ...Where is this guy?" he says out loud. Suddenly a voice speaks from behind him," I see you do not like to be kept waiting." Hawk quickly jumps back and looks at the figure. He then sighs and replies," No, I don't. I also don't like freaks sneaking up on me." The figure simply says,"...Do you have it?" Hawk reaches into cloak, pulls out a disk and replies," Yeah. I have it. Don't know why anyone would want some battle data." " It is no concern of yours." replies the figure and he hold out his hand. " Whatever." replies Hawk and tosses the disk to the figure. " I'm outta here." Hawk says and he turns to leave. " Not so fast." replies the figure. Hawk stops and turns around saying,"What?" the figure then says,"Your job is not done yet." Hawk glares at the figure and shouts,"What! I didn't sign up for anymore jobs!" The figure turns and walks toward the edge of the building and says," This is for the payment you have already received." Hawk's anger surfaces as he pulls out his twin pistols and point them at the figure. "Don't mess with me, man!" The figure doesn't turn, but keeps looking forward. " Do you really think that will work this time?" he says. Hawk quickly remembers the first time he met the figure and how he somehow blocked his shots before. Hawk realizes that he he doesn't have a choice in the matter and he puts away his weapons, still angry. "After this you will be done." says the figure. Hawk looks at the figure who is standing in front of him and says,"I better be. These guns might not work on you, but that doesn't mean I won't try!"The figure ignores Hawk and throws a book at Hawk who catches it. Hawk opens the book and look at it, seeing the data of various people. "..This is your target."says the figure. Hawk looks up from the book and asks," Who are they?" "Some group of replioids that are like Mavericks."replies the figure. Hawk raises a brow and says," They aren't Mavericks?" The figure looks at Hawk and says," No, but they have similar goals. Just spy on them." and with that he turns to leave. "And don't get caught." says the figure and warps from the area. Hawk looks at the book and reads their current power and abilities,"...I might need some help on this one..." he thinks to himself.

Meanwhile in a laboratory, a group of scientists are having a discussion about something that will indeed change the world as they know it. The head doctor looks at some data that another scientist has given him and he studies it intensely. Another doctor asks," Well, sir?" The doctor look at the data again and replies,"...This is..interesting. Are you sure you can do this?" The other doctor says," Yes, sir. I am." "...Very well...Gather the men you need. I shall set a deadline soon." says the head doctor. The other quickly replies," Yes, sir! Thank you, sir! I shall not fail you." and with that he quickly leaves the room. The head doctor then walks his desk and sits down still deep in thought over the data he just reviewed. Suddenly the monitor on his desk comes to life and begins to beep. The head doctor reaches over and activates it saying,"...Yes?" A female voice from the monitor asks,"How is it proceeding?" " Very good." replies the head doctor. "...You may continue. I shall contact you in the near future." she says and suddenly the monitor goes black. The doctor looks ahead and thinks of what could happen.

X and Zero stood in the Command Room talking to the Navigators about their last battle. "I can't believe that guy took everything we threw at him." said X. Zero simply replied,"We didn't throw everything at him." X nodded and said,"Maybe, but that guy wasn't using all of his power either." Both of them turned to Alia and she said," I'll analyze what I can and see if I find any weak points. " Nana the got up from her chair and placed each of her hands on the Hunters and said," In the mean time you two get some rest. I'll have the others on rotating shifts." X turned to Alia and replied," Thanks." Layer turned from where she was sitting and said," I'll look after your armor." X nodded to her and then crossed his arms above his head. He then said," X Armor! Power down!" as he moved his arms down to his side. As he did, X's armor quickly turned bright and dissipated from the area. Zero did the same and said," Zero Armor! Power Down!" like X his armor also turned bright and then dissipated from the area. Josh then turned toward the Command Room's doors and said," I'm heading out." He then left the Command Room. Alia noticed Zero also leaving and she asked," Were are you off to, Shokunin?" He simply replied,"..Training." and also left the Command Room.

Josh walked into the living quarters of the X-Team building and looked around. It seemed pretty empty and he could only hear sounds from other areas were people were probably working. "...Hey, I going to town. Anyone want to go?" he said aloud. He listened for a second, but he heard no reply. "...Guess not." he said and shrugged. "Oh well." he said and the turned to leave the building. As he walked toward the door, he suddenly heard footsteps. A voice called out to him," Oh! Wait, Josh! " Josh turned to see Tron running toward him and trying wipe what looked to be grease from her hands. "Huh?" said Josh. Tron ran up to him and said," I need to go to the city too. Um..I need some parts for an invention." Josh looked at her and she quickly turned her face and looked to be blushing. Josh looked a little confused wondering if it was because he was looking weird or something. He scratched his head and said,"..Uh..well..okay..if you want."Tron still didn't try to look Josh in the eyes, she just quickly grabbed his hand and said,": Well, then...Let's go." and with that both of them headed out the door and toward the city.

Over by some of the shrubs next to the door, Axl peeks his head out and watches Josh and Tron leave for the city. He snickers to himself and says," heheh. Josh and-" suddenly someone knocks Axl across his head. Before he can react he hears a girl say," Quiet!" He looks to see Roll is the one hitting him. " Ouch! That-" said Axl but once again, she hits him. " Would you _quit_ it!" he says. Suddenly another person appears behind the bushes as well and says," Axl! Can it!" Axl looks toward the voice and see Marino staring back at him. He sighs and says,":...Man I can't have any fun." as if he's about to be scolded by them for spying. " What are they talking about?" asks Marino. " I think their going to the city!" replies Roll, excited at the thought. " I think I'm going back inside." says Axl, clearly done with the while thing. He gets out from the bushes and starts to head back into the building. " Oh no, your not!" says Marino, grabbing Axl by the collar and stopping him from going any further. She then turns him around and says," Your coming with us!" " ME! Why, me!" asks Axl clearly not wanting any part of whatever they're planning to do. " Because you can change your appearance!" replies Marino. Roll jumps beside her and says," Exactly! Your gonna help us spy!" Axl makes Marino let go of her and he brushes himself off and says,"Um...Don't you think this is a bit..umm..how should I put this...NUTS!" glaring at both of them. Marino crosses her arms and replies," No! Now come on!" and with that she grabs Axl by the collar again and starts dragging Axl along. " Why me!" says Axl as he cries. However, his please fall on deaf ears as the three of them secretly follow Tron and Josh into the city.

Back at the Command Room, Cinnamon just so happened to be looking out and watching Marino and Roll drag Axl toward the city. She says to Alia," Where are they going, Alia?" Alia looks up from her com and says,"Huh? Oh, them. It's better you not know." and goes back to typing. " Huh? What do you mean?" asks Cinnamon. Suddenly another person says,"You might not let ZX, know that Roll is gone either." Cinnamon look behind her to see Bass, waiting at the door. Alia gets up from her seat and heads toward the door,"...How long is this going to keep going?" she says. " I have stopped trying to guess when." replies Bass as the both of them leave the Command Room. Cinnamon just stares at the door and says,"...Huh?"

Josh and Tron quickly entered the city and began walking along the streets of Den Tech. Cars flew by and there were a lot of people walking, quickly going this way and that. The place looked like a nice 21st Century city almost, but here and there you could see holograms advertising something or kids surfing along on some board or jet-skate. Josh looked above him and saw the lines of hover-cars flying above him and the signals hovering in the air as well. Tron noticed how even though many humans were still worried about Mavericks, there was an increase of Replioids walking around as well. She was pretty happy that it seemed, at least here, Humans and Replioids were getting along. With the technology still continuing to grow, even the cyber trees were quickly sprouting up everywhere. Den Tech City's main residential and city area sure was nice. " Well, Where do you want to go first?" asked Josh as he continues to stroll down the street with Tron. Tron suddenly remembered that they were here for a reason and replied," I guess we should go get the parts for my invention, first." Josh stopped for a second and said,"...Where do you go to get mechanical parts?" Tron looked back at him and laughed."Don't you remember? The Striker Unit opened a shop! " she replied. The Striker Unit was a group of Reploids that the X-Team had met and helped a while back. There were five in the unit all together, each of them able to control an element. It was for that reason that they were targeted by the Mavericks. That and the fact that they also knew of a secret that helped X a lot. As soon as Tron mentioned them, Josh lit up and said," Oh, yeah! Now I remember!" Tron looked at him, smiled and said," Let's go!" She then grabbed Josh's hand and they ran off toward the shop.

Meanwhile, not too far behind them, under a cyber tree, two heads poked out from behind it, both with binoculars looking around. " Where are they?" said Marino. Both of them looked around quickly. Suddenly Roll pointed and said," There they are!" Marino quickly looked around too and said,"Where? Oh! Good! Now, Axl-" but she stopped mid sentence because she noticed Axl trying to tip-toe away from both of them. "...Where do you think your going!" she said to him. Axl stopped in his tracks and slowly turned around. " Um..I..was..um..thirsty?" he said. Marino pointed down at her feet and said," Get back here!" Axl simply wined and did as he was told. As soon as he did, Roll grabbed him and said," Now change into something and follow them." Axl quickly looked the other way and replied," uh...I..can't." Roll quickly got in his face and said," Why not?" while she glared at him, Axl replied," Um...My copy chip..is..with Alia..Yeah, and so I-" " Yeah right! Axl!" said Marino, not buying anything he said. Axl sighed and said,"...okay, okay.! But do I have to?" Both of the girls turned and faces Axl saying at the same time," Yes!" Axl sighed again, clearly admitting defeat. Roll then pushed him saying," Now get out there!" Axl still tried to fight, but finally said," Alright! !" Suddenly, light shone from Axl as he quickly changed into another, older looking replioid. He then turned to the girls and said," I'm doing this under protest." Marino simply shoved Axl into the street and said,"Whatever. Get going." As the old man, Axl drooped his head, sighed and said aloud,"I'm never gonna spy again..." clearly regretting ever attempting to spy on anyone. He then looked ahead and saw Tron and Josh both walking ahead of him. He heard Tron say,"Josh! It's over there! Just pass that corner!" and then Josh reply," Alright..cool! Let's go!" They quickly began to walk, heading toward the shop. Axl looked back toward the cyber tree again and saw the glaring energy coming from it, demanding that Axl follow. He then quickly, as fast as he could look without giving himself away, moved toward them. As he turned the corner, he spotted them standing in front of a shop. Tron said,"Here it is. They should have what I need. I'll just run in and pick it up." Josh grinned and replied,"Okay by me. I'm gonna go find a place to sit down. " pointing to a nearby shop. " Tron smiled and replied,"Okay! I'll find you when I'm done." and with that, Tron went inside the store and Josh walked away, heading toward a nearby cafe. " Huh? No way! There splitting up!" Axl said, clearly confused. Suddenly his com crackled to life in his ear as Marino spoke through it,"Axl! What are they doing! They look like they're splitting up!" she yelled. Axl quickly out his hand to his ear, trying to dull the yelling. He replied," They are!" Suddenly, another voice came through the com. Roll said,"," This is no good! Maybe they got in a fight?" Marino came back and replied," No, that can't be." Both of the girls quickly began to argue over the com as to what was going on. While they were, Axl was trying to stop their noise and still act like a normal guy on the street. Which was getting harder and harder to pull off, as people quickly began to stare at the old man who was apparently having a fight with himself. Axl quickly noticed that the people were staring at him and he say over the com," Um..Do you guys mind! People are looking at me!" Both of the girls quickly realize what's going on and Roll shouts over the com," Huh? Oh no! Quick, Axl, get back here!" Everyone still stares or laughs as Axl finally begins walking back." I give up..." he says to himself.

In an unknown place, Merix's voice can be heard shouting in a fit of rage. The figure that sits on the throne who is only know as the Master says," Merix. You will be silent." Merix turns from apparently arguing with another figure and says," But, Master! I want to destroy them!" The Master simply replies," Not now." Merix doesn't do anything for a second. Then he replies," :...Yes, Master." before he turns and leaves the throne room. " He is ambitious, Master." says the figure that Merix was apparently having the argument with. "Yes..I will use him soon, but for now...I have a mission for you." says the Master. The figure turns to him, bows and says," Yes, Master?" "I want you to destroy..Mega Man X." replies the Master with a grin in his voice. The figure also quickly smiles. His chance finally been given and he says,"As you wish." With that the figure warps from the area to fulfill this new mission.

Josh sits down on an outside chair that is places for people who wish to eat the cafe during nice days like today. He looks an see an old man trying to run away with a crowd of people watching and laughing at him. "..What's going on over there?...Hmmm...Nothing to worry about I guess." he says to himself. A young waiter quickly walks to josh and asks," May I get you anything, sir?" Josh snapped out from staring at the crowd and said," Huh? Oh...uh..a coke, I guess." The waiter nod and asks," Anything, else?" Josh turns and catches Tron coming out of the store, waving goodbye to the people inside. He then turns to the waiter and says,"...Yeah, make that two." The waiter bows and says,"Alright, it'll be here in a second." Josh nods to her and says,"Thanks." The waiter then turns and hurries back inside the cafe to fill the order.

Tron looks around, trying to find where Josh had walked off to. Suddenly she catches someone waving at her and see that it's Josh, who is sitting at a table across the street in a cafe. She quickly walks over to where he is and says," There you are." Josh smiled and replied," Looked like a good place to rest." Tron sits down across the table and says," Yeah, it does." "I ordered some drinks, too. I was kinda thirsty." said Josh. Tron smiled and replied," Me too." The waiter quickly returns and hands them their drinks. Josh pays the girl who bows and then leaves. Tron suddenly smiles and giggles. " What's so funny?" asks Josh. Tron looks at him and replies," Nothing. It's just if Nana, or someone saw us they'd think we're on a date."

Marino nearly jumps 10feet in the air and says," Date! I heard her say "Date"!" Apparently switching from sending Axl to spy to directly trying to doing it herself with Roll. " So they are on a date!" says Roll clearly happy at this news. Axl then looks at their direction and says," Wait! Maybe she didn't- " suddenly he feels a cold chill and look up to see both of the girls glaring at him."Okay, okay. Just don't hurt me!" he says. Marino quickly puts his hand on his mouth and says," Shhhhh! I'm trying to listen!" Axl's shoulders droop as he says," :...aw,man." to himself.

As Josh and Tron finish their drinks, Josh looks up and says,"Um...well, I guess we'd better finish getting everything." Tron smiles and says,"...Okay." They both get up and are about the head out, when suddenly screams echo out from behind them. They turn around and look in the direction. "What's going on?" Josh says. " I have an "idea"." replies looking at Josh. Both of the nod in agreement. Suddenly a explosion erupts across the street as all traffic stop and people run away from the explosions. "Time to go to work." says Josh. "Right." says Tron as she steps forward. Josh suddenly remembers that Tron doesn't fight very much and stops. She turns around and says," What's wrong?" "Are you sure you can fight?" he asks. Tron looks at him and replies," Huh? Of course I can. I'm not helpless, you know!" with a grin. Josh replies,"Right, sorry. Okay Let's do this! X Armor!" as he activates his watch. "Tetra Armor!" says Tron as she does the same. Both of them says," Power Up!" Suddenly light surrounds both of the as their armor forms and transforms them for battle. X looks in the direction of the attacks and says," Right, now let's see what's going on!" Tron nods in agreement and the both of them dash toward the commotion.

Marino watches them dash off and raises her hands in defeat. "Oh, great!" she says aloud. Axl quickly breathes a sigh of relief. Roll quickly jumps up and says," Come on! Let's help them out! " Marino makes a face and says," Man, and things were just getting good! Let's go, Axl!" Axl quickly jump up and says," Right!" while thinking,"At least I won't have to use my copy abilities anymore." All three of them then quickly race off to aid their friends.

Suddenly an energy blast flies into a nearby building. X looks at the attack and says,"Where's the attack coming from?" both of them are in the streets trying to quickly move between the running masses and derbies. Tetra looks around and then says," ...Over there!" she points in the direction where a lot of people are quickly running from. " It might be that Merix, again. Be careful. That guy's a lot stronger than he let's on." says X. "Right." replies Tetra. They quickly run in that direction and quickly find themselves in a open area of the city, now abandoned because of the attacks. Suddenly X shouts," Look out!" as the points to an incoming energy wave. Both of them quickly roll out of the way as the attack slams into the building behind them. " They don't seem to be directed toward us!" says Tetra. X looks up and says," He's probably just trying to draw us out." Suddenly, two figures warp down into the area. " Zero! Bass!" says X as the two figures turn around and see X and Tetra. " What are you doing here so soon?" asks Zero. " We heard the explosions and rushed over." replied Tetra. " Oh. Hey! Who's that?" says Zero. X turns toward the direction that Zero points and says,"Huh?" Suddenly, Marino, Roll and Axl quickly rush over to the rest of the group. Axl is breathing heavily and says," *Huff**Huff* Hi, guys!" Marino ignores him and asks," What's up?" "Where have you three been?" asks Bass looking at them freak at his question. "...Uh.." says Roll trying to come up with something to say. "What do you mean?" asks X looking at Bass. " They have been gone ever since you left." he replied. X then turns to the group and says,"They have, have they?" Marino nervously laughs and says," ..Well you see...We.." "...We..Had to help Axl!" says Roll quickly. " What!" says Axl clearly not understanding. Marino jabs him in the ribs before he can say anything else and says,"Yeah! You see..." trying to make up an explanation. " Never mind. We'll talk about this later..Zero. Any ideas on who we're about to meet?" says X. Zero turns to him and says," No. Alia got the same readings from before." "So this is Merix, or his hooded friends.." says X. Axl quickly takes out his laser pistols and says," This'll be fun." X begins to walk forward and says,"Alright, everyone. Let's move out!" The a quickly move forward and eventually find the unknown figure attacking the city. The figure turns from throwing an attack and says,"Well, so they finally show up do they? I nearly blew up the whole place out of boredom!" X activates his buster and says,"Who are you!" The cloaked figure laughs and says,"All in good time." Zero the rushes the enemy and says," Yeah? How about now!" he then unsheathes his Z-Saber and attempts to attack the figure. However, he quickly doges the attack shoves Zero into a nearby wall. The figure laughs and says,"Is that all?" Axl quickly rushes to Zero and says," Zero, you okay?" Zero jumps out from the wall and say," Fine. I'm gonna wipe that grin off your face, pal! You hear that?" The cloaked figure grins and replies,"By all means...try! " Zero rushes the enemy again, but this time he dodges the enemy's counter-attack and slashes him with the Z-Saber. The attack sends the cloaked figure back a couple of steps. There is a scar across his cloak where Zero struck him. " How's that?" says Zero. The figure looks down at his cloak and says," Hmm. I'm through playing. I have a mission to carry out!" He then grabs his cloak and continues," It is time to face-" he then takes his cloak and tosses it into the air, revealing his armor and his true form. "-Serium!" In the sun, the figure known as Serium, stands tall, his armor shining in the light. He grins as the faces the entire X-Team. As the X-Team charges the enemy, Serium powers up for a battle that will set the stage for the beginning of the War...


End file.
